titan shield - San Marino High School

4 FEATURES
Moments to Remember for a Lifetime
Helen Hejran
News Editor
hhejran.titanshield@gmail.com
“Band Attend Hut!” shouts Drum Major
Senior Jason Lui at 6:50 a.m. sharp. “One!”
San Marino High School’s Marching Band
shouts back. Every school morning, the
marching band meets during zero
period. However, marching band is not
only about playing an instrument and
marching, it is also full of traditions
that give lifelong memories to its
members.
“In marching band
you work together to do
something for a common
goal. You are
working towards
something greater
than yourself, not
for college, but for
each other and for
band. That’s what’s
different,” put Drum
Major Senior Jason
Lui.
This year, the
marching band is
different in that
members have a greater r
drive than the previous
years to perform well.
As Assistant Drum Major
Senior William Su stated, “ T h i s
year is denitely different from previous
years in terms of our potential. We are
far more prepared, more equipped, and
more dedicated. With our excited group
of incoming Freshmen and experienced
Seniors leading the way, I can’t wait for
the rst competition to nally show what
we have to offer this year.”
Right when summer began, every
section held sectionals to begin learning
the music and marches.
A f t e r
summer
school
ended, band
camp began.
For two weeks, the
band met from the afternoon until night to
perfect their music and marching skills, as
well as bond with fellow performers.
New members were introduced to the
traditions, screaming whilst running to the
top of the show and ending practice with a
pelvic thrust and shouting, “Uh!”
Commenting on the accomplishments
of band, Marching Band
President
Ryan Liu stated, “It
i s
m o r e
pronounced in
band because our
school’s marching band is student-run
for the most part, which I like because at
the end of this, we can say that it was our
accomplishment, rst place or last place.”
Since the school year began, members
have been dedicating 13 weeks of their
lives to band. Every Thursday, members
attend night practice to prepare for the
half-time show at the football game. Even
during practice, all of the band members
wear black for unity.
Prior to the halftime show, sections
gather together for pep talks that end
with each section shouting their cheer or
chant.
After halftime, the leaders salute
the band. At the end of the game,
the “Band, how do you feel?” chant
ensues. When the chant ends, the Drum
Major gives a debrieng, commenting on
what he noticed on and off the eld, as to
correct members’ errors before the band
competition with other schools.
Moreover, after band competitions
the band walks in a spiral around the
Drum Major until there is one tight
circle. They end the competition with
the leadership saluting the band. Each
time, the band salutes in return with a
unique gesture.
Perhaps the greatest proof of the
strength of the marching band is
simply the way the various members
summed up their experiences over the
years: “dedication, love, life, family,
esoteric, work, enthralling, mindblowing,
badass, united we stand, sexy,
and exotic.”
Parrying Their Way to Victory
The referee yells out, “En garde, ready, fence!” The fencing match has commenced. Two men dressed in white with swords begin to move towards one another. Fencing is a sport
in which two people attack one another and defend themselves with a sword. Four remarkable students at San Marino High School fence: Seniors Austin Chien and Hani Zewail,
Junior Thomas Jakway, and Freshman Nathan Leung. These four students, who fence for hobby, sport, and passion, all have peculiar stories to be told on how they began their career
in fencing.
Hani Zewail Austin Chien Nathan Leung Thomas Jakaway
“I don’t think people know that I really
like space, and I have a secret dream of
being an astronaut,” commented Senior
Hani Zewail. Space may be his future, but
fencing is present.
In the sixth grade, a good friend
introduced Hani to fencing. At Hani’s rst
experience, he states he “got the hang of it
right when [he] started.”
Since then, he has grown to have a
passion for fencing; a passion fueled by the
“thrill of beating someone who is ranked
higher than you, the rush of adrenaline,
excitement, and the respect you get after
you get that last hit.”
Through fencing, Hani has also learned
to “keep pushing and repeating until
[he gets] down what [he] needs, as
well as how to be patient and let the
opponent make a mistake instead of
anticipating and making a mistake
[himself].”
As an experienced fencer,
he would say “to anyone
who is interested in doing
the sport to denitely
pursue
it; fencing is an
awesome
sport where you
get to play
w i t h swords.”
Elizabeth Ogawa//Staff Writer
eogawa.titanshield@gmail.com
September 30, 2011
“I believe fencing denes much
of my personality” commented
Senior Austin Chien.
“ I h a d
always
b e e n
a
big fan o f
Star Wars,”
A u s t i n
stated, “so
my mom
suggested
I try the sport.”
Listening to
her advice, he
began to fence.
To reach
her current
level, he
practices for about
six hours a week.
Austin aspires to
continue fencing in college,
hoping to join a team.
As a role model
to those new to t h e
sport, Austin encouraged such amateurs to
“just go for it.” He commented that though
fencing is certainly not for everyone, and it
is both a mental and physical battle, but is
also a lot of fun.
Caitlin Kang//Staff Writer
ckang.titanshield@gmail.com
Anyone can play basketball
or football, but how many
people can
say
t h e y
fence? Freshman
Nathan Leung
is one of those
people.
Two and a
half year a g o ,
N a t h a n ’ s parents
e n r o l l e d h i m
i n fencing.
O n l y playing for
a
short time, Nathan h a s
already competed in foil
fencing, fencing with a type of
sword called foil.
Nathan stated that he needs to be
“aggressive but also passive and [has] to
trust [his] gut feelings” during the heat of a
competition. To Nathan, fencing is not only
a sport but also something that has helped
him in school.
He expressed, “While fencing I have to
follow my instincts which helps me during
tests.”
Caitlin Kang//Staff Writer
ckang.titanshield@gmail.com
Many nd it difcult to incorporate
passion with sports, but for Junior Thomas
Jakway, this is no problem.
“Fencing is denitely my main sport and
activity. I’ve spent incredible amounts of
time training for competitions and haven’t
looked back,” expresses Thomas.
Four years ago, Thomas started his
serious training for fencing competitions,
and “realized that fencing was [his]
calling.”
To him, the best part about fencing is
“the experience.”
“ I’ve had the opportunity to meet so
many different people who judge you based
on your fencing abilities, not your age,
height or any of the other useless statistics
we’re measured by,” he stated.
Fencing may seem like a dignied
and leisurely sport, but fencing actually
requires absolute precision, as fencers
compete against opponents who has been
practicing extemely hard with the common
goal of winning.
“I’m now more disciplined in character,
concentrated on my priorities, and
physically t. Finally, I’ve discovered that
‘Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games’
is both a terrible video game and a poor
portrayal of fencing in general,” Thomas
concluded.
Elizabeth Ogawa//Staff Writer
eogawa.titanshield@gmail.com
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